Race, ethnicity, and self-rated health status in the behavioral risk factor surveillance system survey

This study examines the association between race and self-rated health status among Hispanic and non-Hispanic adults in the 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey (N = 241,038). Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of self-rated health as fair/poor for Hispanic Blacks, Hispanic Whites, and non-Hispanic Blacks as compared with non-Hispanic Whites. This study found that, first, Hispanic Blacks were more likely to rate their health as fair/poor than Hispanic and non-Hispanic Whites, and second, there was no difference between Hispanic and non-Hispanic Blacks. Specifically, when compared with non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanic Blacks and Whites were more likely to report their health as fair/poor. However, this association was stronger for Hispanic Blacks. More careful examination of race among Hispanics is imperative to unmask important health variations.